


Flawed

by Lady_Felucia



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, kylux - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, Armitage Hux Needs A Hug, Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren Fluff, Attraction, Awkward Conversations, Awkward Tension, Awkwardness, Developing Friendships, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hoth, I Ship It, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Kylo Ren Needs a Hug, Kylux - Freeform, Love, M/M, Mutually Unrequited, Post-Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars - Freeform, Sweet, Talking, Wampas, Wilderness Survival, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-27
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-05-13 22:04:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14757137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Felucia/pseuds/Lady_Felucia
Summary: A mission to the icy planet of Hoth goes horribly wrong, when an attack by the wildlife takes out almost an entire squad, and leaves the two surviving members, General Hux and Lord Ren, stranded in the brutal, subzero temperatures.As the two contend to survive the night, a surprising conversation leads them to discover that they may just have more in common with each other than they’d imagined.





	Flawed

They were going to die.

There was no two ways about it; it certainly seemed to be inevitable.

When Snoke had sent General Hux and Kylo Ren on a mission to Hoth, of all places, neither had been too thrilled about it. But apparently there was a cave there, located in the outermost region of the planet, that hosted an extremely rare nest of kyber crystals, which Snoke wanted mined and brought back to him. He told Kylo Ren to accompany Hux simply because Kylo Ren knew what kyber crystals looked like, whereas Hux did not. Hux was sent because he had better strategic skills than Kylo, and, seeing as how they were embarking on a stealth-mission to a planet in a system that was openly hostile to the First Order, well, those skills might come in handy.

The trip there had been fine, and they had managed to travel to within 20 miles of their destination, before deciding to stop and make camp for the evening

And that's when all hell broke loose.

Things had gone south so quickly that Hux's head was still reeling in the aftermath. The snowspeeders had been torn to bits. They had been attacked by a swarm of rabid Wampas. The beasts, using the protection of having white fur in blinding snow, attacked the encampment and everyone in it, outnumbering and overpowering before anyone could do much as get to their feet. The men had all been killed, and the food rations devoured by the ravenous monsters. Once the food was gone, they started in on the dead or unconscious men themselves.

Hux had been knocked unconscious in the first wave of the attack, and had been buried underneath a tall mound of snow in the ensuing panic. While the snow served to protect him from being devoured, it also served to significantly lower his body temperature, leaving him on the verge of death. It was his heavily insulated thermals that had saved him--that, and Kylo Ren.

Kylo had fought back as best he could during the attack, and managed to kill a few Wampas, but was unable to save his men from the fate that awaited them. After the animals had left, he reached out with the Force to try and pick up on any lifeforms that may still be present, which led him to Hux's location. 

He had pawed away the snow from Hux's inert body, and sat rubbing his hands rapidly along Hux's face and hands, until, eventually, the stunned redhead blinked, showing that he was still alive.

The two had stumbled their way through the falling snow to a small cave, where Ren pulled together as much loose brush as he could, and lit it on fire with his saber.

But the shrieking wind outside found its way in, keeping what little flames they could garner even more insignificant. Night was falling fast, and the temperature was falling faster.

They, were going to die.

"We're not going to die," Kylo said, hearing the thought in Hux's mind. "We'll freeze a little, yes, but we won't _die_."

Hux just glared at him. Whether Kylo Ren had "saved" him or not, he still didn't care for him as a person, and this was the very LAST person he'd want to contend for survival with.

"Well, can't you use the Force, or something? To make the snow stop?"

Kylo could just barely chuckle over his chattering teeth. "Use the Force . . . to control the weather? That's not how the Force works, you imbecile."

"Useless. Completely useless," Hux muttered, shaking his head.

"I don't hear you coming up with any helpful ideas, General."

"I HAD a helpful idea days ago, when I begged Snoke to send literally anyone else on this mission with you!"

Kylo adjusted his hood so that it was most of the way over his eyes, and he pulled his arms back into his sleeves, hugging himself.

"I don't suppose you have any food on you?"

"I'd say that food is the karking least of our worries, Ren. What do we do once that fire goes out?"

"It won't."

"Of course it will. Those pathetic little sticks won't keep it going for another five minutes, let alone all night."

Kylo sighed and stood up. He walked to the entrance of the cave, and, closing his eyes, stretched out his hand towards the whirling snow.

"What are you doing?" Hux asked him warily.

All of a sudden, a clunking crash sounded outside the cave. Hux, thinking it was another Wampa, leapt up and drew out his blaster. 

But Ren was still standing there as though nothing was wrong. He was, in fact, smiling, his hand still extending into the darkening whiteness.

Getting closer, Hux's mouth dropped open, to see what looked like ghosts coming near them. Hux had never believed in spirits before, but this certainly looked like them. Human-shaped obstacles floating slowly towards them.

It took Hux a long few moments to realize that it wasn't ghosts, not exactly. It was the dead bodies of the men, being dragged from their snowy graves by Kylo. When Kylo let his hand down, two dozen men lay outside the mouth of the cave.

"Help me," he told Hux, going towards the nearest man. "We strip the body. The thermal clothes and undergarments we take, until we can't fit any more. The armor, we burn. We drag them in one at a time, strip them, and separate the clothing accordingly into piles. When we're done with one man, we toss him back outside and get the next. Agreed?"

Despite how tasteless Hux found it to rob corpses, how morbidly horrifying, he nodded, and they set to work. The act of moving back and forth served to keep them warm, as well as keep their minds occupied from devolving into panic.

When they had finished with the last body, they went into the pile of clothing and put on as many layers as they could fit over their own clothes. Hux had to laugh a little, in his mind, at how huge and clunky they both looked under so much added weight. Rather much like Wampas, themselves.

The armor burned beautifully, although it did create a bit of an unpleasant smell. But a stink was more than a fair price to pay for keeping warm, so they accepted it as best they could.

Kylo was entertaining himself by using his mind to move around bits of the snow and ice along the walls of the cave, creating tiny sculptures. Hux had no choice but to watch him. They couldn't let the fire go out, or they'd freeze. Hux was exhausted, and wanted to suggest to Kylo that they take turns napping, one sleeping while one tended the fire and kept watch for possible intruders, but he couldn't do that. He didn't particularly trust Kylo, and didn't relish the thought of closing his eyes in front of him. Kylo felt the same way towards him, so they both silently endeavored to stay awake until morning.

Hux was also starving, but knew that to complain would be futile. So he spoke about something else, instead.

"In the morning, if it's clear, we need to head back to the ship. I know it's a long way, but if we move fast, we should make it. From there we leave this God-forsaken planet and go home. Tell Snoke we couldn't make it to the crystals."

Kylo nodded. "Agreed. Maybe we can find some berries, or a small animal or something, on the way."

"You know, the more you think about eating, the hungrier you'll feel," Hux told him. The fire was getting low; he got up and tossed another piece of armor into it. "Think about something else. That's what my father would say."

"Speaking of which, I've always wanted to ask you: what's the situation with you and your father?"

"What do you mean?"

"You think about him a lot, and not very pleasant things. So I was just wondering . . ."

"How many times must I ask you to stay out of my head?, Hux asked irritably.

" . . . so I was just wondering, what the deal is there."

Hux folded his arms tighter across his chest, burying his chin in his collar. 

"I really don't wish to talk about this, Ren. Not ALL of us want to have our daddy issues front and centered, like yours are."

"It's not like you have anywhere else to be right now, is it? We've got to stay awake, and talking is a good way to do that. So, talk. I'm listening."

"You know, I know I've never met Leia Organa personally, but from what I've heard, she seems to be a vastly intelligent woman, with an uncanny ability to read those around her. Did she never teach you social graces, or when to _back off_ of uncomfortable subject matter?"

"She and Han weren't around for much, I'm afraid. Always gone, always 'busy'. They passed me off to Luke before I was 10 years old. Hence why my bond with her is nearly non-existent, and one of the many, many reasons I killed Han last year," Kylo said calmly, matter-of-factly. "Now, I've told YOU something personal and uncomfortable, so answer my question."

But Hux wanted to hear more of Kylo's story.

"They gave you to that crazy old hermit as a child?", he asked, shaking his head. "That certainly explains a lot about you."

"Luke wasn't always like that. He was, well, actually, I'd say he felt like more of a father to me, than Han did."

"Yet you killed him, too. If that's how you treat people you care about, I'd hate to see what you do with someone you truly hated."

Kylo scowled, and Hux could almost swear he saw his hand twitch towards his lightsabers.

"He started it; he tried to kill me first."

"What do you mean?"

"He tried to kill me, first. On -- on the last night I was Ben Solo, I was sleeping in my hut outside the temple. I woke up, and Luke was there, standing over me, with his lightsaber in his hand. He was going to cut me down in my sleep.”

Hux frowned, unable to believe what he was hearing. 

"Why would your own uncle try and murder you?"

"He 'sensed the darkness' in me," Kylo replied, laughing bitterly. "But he didn't even try and TALK to me about it. He waited until I was alone and defenseless, like a coward. So I dealt with him like one does a coward."

Hux was quiet, thinking. This was the most Kylo had ever told him about his past, and hearing about the pieces that went into him as a person was somewhat staggering. Everyone that he had loved, had let him down, or abandoned him in some way. So much hurt, so much pain he seemed to be constantly carrying around in him . . . how did he function? How did he not let it drive him mad?

Before he could make sense of what he was doing, he sat up straight and looked Ren in the eye, talking calmly, earnestly to him.

"My mother wasn't my father's wife. My mother was a kitchen maid that he had an affair with. The only reason he didn't kick her out after she told him of her pregnancy was because his own wife hadn't borne him any children, and he wanted a son. So he got me. He got me, and my mother died before I was two years old. I'm not entirely sure, but I think my father's wife had her killed. He sent me to the academy he went to from 7 years old. Everybody there knew that I was a servant girl's bastard child, and I rarely had any friends. And Brendol, was brutal on me. Nothing I ever did, or achieved, or accomplished, was 'good enough' for him. You say that there are many, many reasons why you killed Han? There are many reasons why I hate my father, Ren. I'd wager my list is longer than yours. Does that answer your question?"

Kylo was staring at him open-mouthed; it seemed Hux had actually shocked him to silence, a notable accomplishment indeed. It didn't last long, however, and Kylo recovered enough to say,

"Your father is still alive, correct?"

Hux nodded.

"Okay. Well. You need to borrow my lightsaber, and go kill him."

Hux burst out laughing at the absurdity of Kylo's 'joke'. The laughter died quickly when he realized Kylo wasn't laughing with him, because it hadn't been a joke. At all.

"I can't just up and kill my father, Ren. And even if I did, I wouldn't use that fire-stick of yours to do it."

"Be a bit more appreciative, Hux. I never offer to let anyone borrow my baby."

"Your 'baby'?", Hux asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well, could that possibly be because your baby is broken?"  
"Broken? What do you mean, broken?"

"I won't pretend to be an expert in lightsaber construction, because obviously, I'm not. But I can't help but notice the way your saber looks and sounds, compared to the Supreme Leader's. Yours crackles and sparks. His sounds smooth. So that leaves me to deduce . . ."

"Well, you're partly right," Kylo said, and before Hux could move away, Kylo had taken out his saber and ignited it, holding it within inches of Hux's face. Hux stayed calm, didn't move, didn't so much as breathe, as he stared into the fiery red light. "The kyber crystal is cracked, which attributes to the sound and appearance. But that doesn't mean it's broken; it means there's a lot of power being released. See the side vents?", Kylo asked, turning the blade just slightly so that one of the smaller vents was facing Hux. Directly in his face, in fact. If it was any closer, he would be giving Hux a shave. Hux nodded, still not moving, or taking his eyes off the blade.

"Those vents filter the extra energy out, creating balance in the three ports, which, hopefully, means it won't explode."

His demonstration over, he switched the saber off (to Hux's overwhelming relief) and clipped it back onto his belt.

"Well," said Hux, after his unease had died down, "Maybe we should try and find the kyber cave after all? Because once we find that cave, you can switch out the broken crystal for a new one?"

Kylo shook his head. "I could never do that. It's -- it's not the crystal's fault, that it's broken. It's flawed but it still functions, it's still strong."  
There was an odd, almost pleading quality to Kylo's tone, as if he desperately needed Hux to agree with him.

"You're right," Hux said, giving him a small smile.

At that moment, a large hole suddenly appeared in the caves roof, directly above the fire. Both men leapt up, panicked. The strong wind had chipped away at the solid ice covering, leaving their shelter partly exposed. The fire died immediately.

Concentrating, Kylo managed to levitate a large piece of armor into the open space. He wedged it as tightly as he could with his mind, but there was still a good sized chunk of hole left uncovered. The wind ripped and shrieked across it.

Hux set to work building a fire in a different area of the cave, but it didn’t help much. The wind that got in kept the flame dangerously low, and already the temperature had dropped several critical degrees.

They were going to die.

Hux tried to be calm, and accept this fate. At least, he thought, it wouldn’t really hurt. From what he had read, hypothermia felt a lot like going to sleep ... and never waking up again.

He looked over at Kylo, and did a double-take. Had he gone mad? He was busily stripping out of his many layers, standing there shivering in the open air.

“What are you ...”

“Take off your clothes!”

“W-what? Excuse me?”

“Take off your clothes! It’s a survival technique; we both strip, then we sit with our arms around each other, covering up our outsides with the clothes acting as blankets. The skin on skin contact will keep us warm, and alive.”

Hux heard his words, but he couldn’t comprehend them. It felt surreal to be in this situation, and with Kylo Ren, of all people. For a brief moment he wondered if he would rather just die, than face the awkward embarrassment of what they needed to do.

By now Ren had stepped out of his pants, and he stood there in nothing but a thin pair of undergarments.

“Hux! I am NOT going to die like this!”

Without a word of protest, Hux began to take off his clothes with shaking fingers. He kept his eyes straight in front of him, as he hated to see his own body. When he was like Kylo, he joined the latter where he was now sitting on the floor, a pair of trousers beneath him. He could feel himself blush as he got in Kylo’s personal space, and they both began to arrange the discarded clothes around them. When the last piece was in place, Kylo awkwardly opened his arms, and Hux just as awkwardly went into them.

Kylo had been correct; the skin on skin contact was extremely warm, almost _too_ warm. They sat in silence for a few moments, before Hux said “Can you please loosen your grip? You’re crushing me a little.”

“Sorry,” Kylo muttered, and did as he asked.

More silence. 

Hux felt strangely overwhelmed. Not only was this the first ‘hug’ he had had in too many years to count, it was quite possibly the only ‘voluntary’ one of his adult life. Being this close to another human being was odd. He realized that he could feel each breath Kylo took; he could even hear the low, hungry rumbling of his stomach.

“Your hair smells good,” Kylo told him, timidly.

Hux wasn’t sure why that comment struck him as funny, but it did. He burst into loud laughter, shaking so hard that Ren was affected by it as well. After a few startled moments, Ren joined him.

Maybe it was the absolute absurdity of the situation, maybe it was their way of relieving the nerves that had been choking them all day. Whatever the reason, neither of them could stop laughing for a solid chunk of time.

Kylo was the first to recover, and he said,

“Imagine if the rescue team came and found us right now. Lord Ren and General Hux, sitting on the ground, practically naked, and holding each other like children;” and then he was laughing again.

“Well, you do what you have to do to survive, right?”

“Right. I’m glad this worked, though, because there was only one other option and I’m not sure we could go through with it.”

“What else was there?”

Blushing, and stuttering over his words, Kylo told him “W-we, we, we would h-have had to, you know —?”

“Oh, my God,” Hux said, softly, as it clicked in his head. “Holy Maker, can you imagine the rescue squad walking in on THAT?”

Kylo shook his head. “I would feel so badly for you, I really would.”

Hux raised an eyebrow. “Just for me? What about yourself?”

“Of course not. If people actually thought that you had, you know, with ME, they would think less of you. But if it were the other way around, well ...”

“Why would they think less of me?”, Hux asked, confused. At the same time he unconsciously moved a tiny bit closer to Kylo.

“You’re really going to make me say it? Come on, Armitage. We both know that I’m an awful person, in every way imaginable. For you to waste your time on me, in any sense, would look horrible of you. You’re smart, you’re accomplished ... it wouldn’t make sense.”

Hux was quiet for a long time after that, piecing together what Kylo had said. He knew that the man was subject to being emotional, but he would never have suspected that his self-esteem was as low as Kylo just revealed it to be.

“It’s a little funny how someone with all your gifts is nearly totally blind to his own worth,” Hux said, speaking slowly. “You have so much to offer that it’s unfair, almost. That on top of already being handsome, and ...”

“I’m not handsome. I’m hideous.”

Hux pulled back a bit and looked up into Kylo’s face, in disbelief.

“Why would you even say something like that?”

“Because it’s the truth!”

“Who’s truth?!”

Kylo sighed, and without really knowing it, he pressed himself a little closer into the redhead. 

“Anyone with functioning eyeballs. My dad used to tease me all the time, telling me that I must be someone else’s son because I didn’t look like him, at all. And I’m sure you’ve seen holos of Han Solo before; he was quite attractive. But me with my stupid moles and my big ears and ...”

Hux did something that he had never done before, and might never do again. He reached between them and took Kylo’s face between his hands, holding it firmly.

“You. Are. Beautiful.”, he told him, looking him in the eye. “I don’t think I’ve ever used that word to describe another man before, and if you ever tell anyone that I did, I’ll kill you. But dammit, Ren, you need to get that into your head. Can you still read minds? Can you? Because you must have heard ALL of my officers, male and female, talking about you at some point; especially since you started going around without your mask. I cannot tell you how many meetings I’ve had to steer away from the topic of YOU. And Han Solo was an asshole who failed you miserably as a father. So you need to stop with the self-doubt, and you need to stop it NOW. Am I understood?”

“Y-yes, but...”

“But what?!”

“But can you let go of my face, please? You’re hurting me.”

Hux quickly let go, embarrassed, not realizing that he had still been touching him. He was also amazed with himself; where had that rant come from? Since when had he felt so strongly about something?

And then, another wonder: Kylo, was _hugging_ him. It was no longer just them sitting with their arms around each other; Kylo was applying pressure, and his chin was on Hux’s shoulder.

He didn’t say anything, but, for one of the rare few times in his life, Hux didn’t need (or want) words. He understood Ren perfectly.

And then he let go, but still kept his body pressed against Hux’s, as he said,

“We may not die of the cold, now; but if we’re not rescued by morning I’m definitely going to die of hunger. That being said, let’s pass the time by talking about our favorite foods, followed by stories of the best meal we ever had.”

Hux laughed and nodded, glad that Kylo had infused some humor into a situation that had been getting strangely intense.

Neither of them knew it, but a rescue squad was on the way to them at that very moment. The weather being difficult to navigate, they wouldn’t serve until dawn. The two men would be found awake, re-clothed, and building a bigger fire on account of the wind having died down. 

They would be taken on board, and brought straight to medical bay for evaluation. Then they would given food and thick blankets. Hux would be briefed on the success or failure of the mission, while Kylo would make contact with Supreme Leader Snoke.

But all the while, no matter what they did, or to whom they spoke, their minds would be thinking about last night.

About their talk.  
About their laughs.

And about how it felt, sitting with their arms around each other in the dark, while the wind and the snow howled around them outside.

But that, was _tomorrow_.

And tomorrow has no place in the here, and the now.


End file.
